How Does Auto Insurance Work If I'm NOT At Fault in a Collision?

By Compuquotes Team on March 27th, 2008

If you have been in a collision with your vehicle and you were found not at fault, you often don't have to worry, unless the other driver doesn't have insurance or doesn't have enough insurance to cover the claim.

When you are not at fault in a collision, the other person's insurance will pay to replace or repair your vehicle, regardless of the insurance you carry. The other person's insurance, the person who was found at fault in the collision, will pay for the damages to you and your vehicle from their liability insurance.

The only time you will have a problem is if the other driver is uninsured or doesn't have enough insurance to cover the claim. You can take the other driver to court and you will probably win, however as they say, you can't get blood from a stone, and if the other driver doesn't have any money, you won't get any, regardless of the courts decision.

This is where uninsured and under-insured coverage comes into play. This coverage covers you when the other driver who was at fault doesn't have enough insurance to pay for the repairs or replacement of your vehicle or for your injuries. This insurance coverage makes sure you have plenty of coverage instead of hoping that the other drivers on the road have enough coverage, because most of them do not.

There are two basic kinds of uninsured / under-insured coverage: coverage for bodily injury and coverage for property damage, which are self explanatory.

Ensure that you aren't confusing uninsured / under-insured insurance with Personal Injury Protection insurance, which covers your medical bills if you are involved in an accident.

It is mandated by law in most of the states to have uninsured / under-insured coverage on your insurance policy, and many experts think that it is one of the most important types of auto insurance you should have.

Being in a collision is always 'someone's fault', in fact, in the insurance world and the police world, there is no such thing as an accident. All collisions can be avoided in some way and most are caused by driver error. If the fault isn't your own, you shouldn't have to pay for someone else's mistake or carelessness.

Another type of insurance is called no-fault insurance, which is highly debated. This type of insurance pays regardless of who is fault in the collision. So even if you are not at fault, your insurance would pay for the replacement or repairs to your vehicle. The chief reason this type of insurance is highly debated is because it tends to promote more reckless driving, because you are not responsible to pay for anyone's insurance or repairs except your own.

Check with your insurance agent about what type of insurance you have on your vehicle and find out if you have uninsured / under-insured coverage on your vehicle and if it is enough to cover you and your vehicle should you be involved in a collision with an at-fault driver who doesn't have any, or enough, coverage to cover your expenses.